My husband LOVES meatloaf. And when we have meatloaf, he always wants to have homemade garlic mashed potatoes, and peas (because we both like to mix our peas with our mashed potatoes.) So here we go. Aunt Josefa’s Mashed Potatoes–My dad’s youngest sister who lived in Chicago 4 lbs baking potatoes peeled and quartered 1/2Continue reading “Mike’s Favorite Meatloaf Dinner”
Author Archives: cathyboettner
Applesauce by the bushel!
We are completely out of applesauce! I only make it every other year, and this was the year. Apple Valley Orchard sells bushels of second quality apples for a lower price than first quality. A warning: You must be ready to process the apples immediately because some of them are likely bruised and will beginContinue reading “Applesauce by the bushel!”
Planter’s Punch–a Delicious Cocktail that you can make mostly ahead
I made some homemade grenadine a while back. Here is a recipe for it: https://www.carolinescooking.com/homemade-grenadine/ It really is so easy to make and 50 times better than what you can buy most places which is cherry flavored syrup–and real grenadine is pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon. Anyway, when our son and his fiancee were here,Continue reading “Planter’s Punch–a Delicious Cocktail that you can make mostly ahead”
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Now that it’s getting cooler and it’s pumpkin spice season, I am definitely in the mood for some fall desserts. I have tried many recipes for pumpkin cheesecakes, but I always go back to this one because it is so easy and delicious. The crust is like a chewy spicy cookie, and the filling isContinue reading “Pumpkin Cheesecake”
Original Plum Torte by Marian Burros
Plums have such a short season, but I do love them–especially the gorgeous colors. I bought some organic purple plums at Costco last week. I made this cake over the weekend–a double batch–one for us and one for the freezer. I had about 7 plums left that really needed to be used, so I amContinue reading “Original Plum Torte by Marian Burros”
Fall Gardening
It is the time of the year when I have to clear out the summer vegetables, and get to work on my fall and winter garden. I’ve actually been working on it for a while, but I have been remiss in posting about it. A couple weeks ago, my brother and his family were inContinue reading “Fall Gardening”
Out of town guests inspire some fun tables
My brother and his family visited with us last week from Germany. I ordered a bunch of sunflowers from Costco and I bought some Lemon Leaf from the grocery. For this table, I did my plain rimmed Villeroy and Boch dinner plates, and paper napkin with a leafy design and Pier One MacIntosh bowls forContinue reading “Out of town guests inspire some fun tables”
White Lightning Chili Beans
We like white chicken or turkey chili as an occasional alternative to the traditional red/beef chili. Since our poblano harvest has been so abundant, I thought I would make some beans to go into white chili to make meal prep super easy. It is critical that you read the instructions for using your pressure cannerContinue reading “White Lightning Chili Beans”
Quick Trip to Chicago/Oak Park, IL
My husband had to go to Chicago for work, so we made a long weekend of it. We stayed out by O’Hare because that worked best for most of what we ended up doing. Our flight on Friday was delayed because of torrential rain in Chicago, so we didn’t get to the hotel until aboutContinue reading “Quick Trip to Chicago/Oak Park, IL”
The Ancient Basement–More Progress on the Built In Bookshelf
In my last post about the bookshelf, I left you with the shelves mostly stripped. I had my husband help me move the shelf, so that we could put down a new drop cloth because the one I was using was completely trashed. I put another coat of stripper and plastic on it and scrapedContinue reading “The Ancient Basement–More Progress on the Built In Bookshelf”
